Paper short abstract:

This study is inspired by the unexplored capabilities of African narratives, especially films. It envisions the future of Africa and questions the contributions which folktales could make towards re-imagining and re-shaping this future. This is a scholar meets practitioner discussion session.

Paper long abstract:

African storytelling is experiencing global interest, thus presenting African creatives great opportunities to create, define, envision, re-imagine just about anything possible for Africa – past, present and future. Technologies available for storytelling, especially through the film medium, offer an opportunity for a renaissance – the rebirth of great narratives – oral and written, from Africa’s past. Folk narratives help communities maximize their strength, learn morals and teach life skills. Through these tales, weaknesses become strength, threats become opportunities and dreams come to life. According to Mphasa (2017), through folktales, cultural heritage is gained which contributes to determining a people’s thoughts, desires and attitude. With such established efficiency, one becomes curious about the potentials of adapting folktales to address contemporary problems, weaknesses and threats in the society. This study engages established African filmmakers in a discussion to query how folktales can shape African future, and the social responsibilities of the filmmaker as an entertainment educator. The scholar-meets-practitioner discussion session intends to discover how folktales can be used to reimagine African history, development, as well as address her social problems. This is a part of an ongoing research on African storytelling, which interrogates the problems currently hindering the Nigerian society from sustainably evolving and progressing. It intends to discover how adapting folk narratives into contemporary film narratives can promote growth and development as well as inspire and motivate audience into problem solving mode and to envision and aspire towards a new Nigeria.

Paper short abstract:

Stunts in Nollywood films have been pathetic in the past, with some improvement in the recent years due to special effects. Professionals are required to make a dangerous practice safe for Nollywood to come to its full potential in action film production and capture audience of action genre.

Paper long abstract:

This study is about the dearth of stunts that are realistically choreographed in Nollywood films. In the past, fighting scenes in these films are mostly about verbal abuse and yelling at each other. When there is a physical combat, it is mostly a wrestling duel with the use of voodoo charms and magical incantations. The props used like bats and poles looked rubbery and tend to bend thereby signifying the softness of the material composition. Presently, Nollywood stunts have increasingly improved due to the deployment of limited stunt choreography and special effects. However, the most noticeable aesthetic chink in Nollywood presently is still the absence of choreographed action sequences that are realistic and need to be reviewed for the future of the industry. The aim was to spur Nollywood to fill this missing link, while the objectives were to find out if this lacuna was caused by lack of stunt coordinators in Nollywood and if it has stunted the industry. In this line, the research adopted the qualitative analysis methodology to review existing data and some popular Nollywood thriller movies. The findings were that this vacuity resulted from insufficient stunt choreographers which diminished the composite value of these films by excluding the genre from audience with action interest worldwide. The paper concludes that the void needs urgent intervention for future universal acceptability and suggests that stunt coordinator department be a part of Nollywood crew.

Keywords: Action-Sequence, Choreographed-Stunts and Stunt Coordinator

Paper short abstract:

There exists a practice of film translation in Eastern Africa based on manipulation of film sound to insert oral narrative. This paper engages with DJ Afro’s work to describe and evaluate the impact of orality in this emergent genre of film narration as intermedial form of popular culture.

Paper long abstract:

There exists a unique practice of film translation based on the manipulation of sound in film such that the dialogue in the original is superseded by oral narrative performance and studies have been done on this to examine the aesthetic and technological processes and outcomes of this practice in Eastern Africa (Jiafang Lee 2022, James Ogone 2020, Matthias Krings (2015, 2007, Damaris Wanjiru 2018, Anne Overbergh 2014 and Kimani and Mugubi 2014). This paper extends the discourse by locating it within what one might call the adaptation of the technological elements of film to the frames and tropes of the oral tradition. In doing so, I work with the concepts of intermediality and orality as they manifest in he work of DJ Afro. On intermediality in film, I follow the basic questions of production, distribution, function, and reception (J, Arvidson et al, 2007). On orality, I reflect on relevant elements of oral performance in such studies, particularly on Karin Barber’s concept of the constitution of oral texts (2007) and Ruth Finnegan’s concept of ‘how to do things with words’ (1969). I consider the oral and technological extensions of film that occur in this process as an echo of what Keyan Tomaselli, Arnold Shepperson and Maureen Eke have termed as the interpretation and rearticulation of Western media in the specific African contexts. Most important, I explore the production of popular cultures that are facilitated in the interstices between the two distinct media of technology and oral performance

Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the work of contemporary Nigerian women filmmakers – directors and producers like Kemi Adetiba, Funke Akindele, Omoni Oboli, Tope Oshin, Mosunmola Abudu - and their role in reshaping the future of Nollywood film industry and African cinema.

Paper long abstract:

Prompted by lively creativity and independent cultural entrepreneurship, Nigerian film industry became in the last decades the second largest film industry in the world, after Bollywood and before Hollywood, producing around 2500 films each year and reaching global resonance. In this paper I focus on how Nigerian women filmmakers (directors, producers, actors) are using different media platforms (Netflix, Iroko TV, Facebook and Instagram) to act as cultural entrepreneurs. Following the footsteps of Amaka Igwe, one of the first woman director of the Nollywood Video era, women directors and producers are becoming key creative entrepreneurs in the Digital Nollywood industry, gaining space and reclaiming power in a traditionally men-dominated media field. Their work in commercially successful films and tv series is contributing to change industrial dynamics as well as gender representations and stereotypes.

In the paper I am addressing the following questions: What are the circulation networks for Nigerian film cultures in present media configurations? How have they changed in the last thirty years with digital technologies becoming integrated in the production and distribution processes? How do Nigerian women filmmakers, directors and producers use streaming and social media platforms to act as cultural entrepreneurs and reconfigure the structures and dynamics of Nigerian film industry? Which is the role played by global streaming platforms (mainly Netflix) and African streaming platforms (IrokoTV, ShowMax) in the circulation of contemporary Nigerian cinema? Which is the role of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram in the entrepreneurial strategy of Nigerian women filmmakers?

Paper short abstract:

In this paper we explore the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI), cultural intelligence (CQ) and how applied africology as a new approach to African abstract and concrete reasoning can usher in a new age of prosperity for Africa; we use storytelling as a practice-led research tool.

Paper long abstract:

Centuries of oppression have prevented most African countries from speaking their languages or practicing their cultures, causing serious identity crises. We can see how it impacted economics, society and environment.

To solve this problem and help propel African storytelling into the modern age it is important to understand the continent as a whole. Technology is moving fast, carrying with it the might of the stories from the countries where a given technology was invented.

In Applied Africology, rather than trying to solve a problem as it would be in a different context, we explore the given problem within its African context and may re-interpret or restructure it in order to suggest a relevant path to a solution.

We will delve into the potential threats posed by AI systems that lack cultural sensitivity, drawing on historical experiences of colonialism, imperialism, and slavery to highlight the importance of preserving and promoting cultural diversity in the age of AI. By examining generative AI, post-scarcity, and the so-called singularity, we will uncover the role that diverse and representative data sets play in fostering culturally intelligent AI.

I use practice-led research methodologies, and practical examples in the form of: The film "The Africologist" (2022), the Book "The Last Storyteller" (Summer 2023) and the XR/AR enabled to come up with unique ways of telling African stories for the future (https://africologist.com).

Paper short abstract:

Nollywood filmmakers are beginning to see the currency in recreating indigenous stories around cultural legends and myths. Anikulapo and Eleshin Oba become significant indigenous models that set the tone for indigenous films and for the rejuvenation of African folklore on the Nigerian screen.

Paper long abstract:

Nigeria is at a time in its social-cultural life where looking back at the past for inspiration is gaining agency. Nollywood filmmakers are beginning to see the currency in recreating indigenous stories around cultural legends and myths. The year 2022 witnessed the premiere of at least three such films: King of Thieves (Agesinkole), Anikulapo, and Elesin Oba (The King's Horseman). Prior to 2022, films given to indigenous content such as Amina (2021) and The Griot (2021), prepared the taste of Nollywood lovers for the surge to come. Both films become significant indigenous models that set the tone not just for indigenous films, but for the rejuvenation of African folklore on the Nigerian screen. The film did not only revisit the past in terms of content but also with form. Employing story in story techniques, dance, and songs like the historic tales by moonlight. This paper uses Anikulapo, and Elesin Oba (The King's Horseman) as a case study for revisiting indigenous African storytelling techniques and a tool for engineering new approaches for future storytelling in Nigeria and Africa. The language of films is Yoruba, the story techniques are very indigenous and open up the space for discourse around indigenous reawakening in Nollywood and the prospect of a change in storytelling trajectory that becomes genuinely African. With the boom of historical recreation in Nollywood, hopes as to whether the industry can begin to make profound statements creating future direction for entertainment in Africa becomes a possibility.

Paper short abstract:

Based on an engaged 360° video coproduction fieldwork in Lagos, Cotonou and Dakar, this contribution discusses the radical ambivalences stemming from our experimentation with this futuristically charged media form, as well as africanfuturism's operability and limitations for decolonial research.

Paper long abstract:

Based on an engaged 360° video coproduction fieldwork in Lagos, Cotonou and Dakar, this contribution discusses the radical ambivalences stemming from our experimentation with this futuristically charged media form, as well as africanfuturism's operability and limitations for decolonial research. After briefly presenting the prevalence of the twin digital technologies of the VR headsets and the 360° camera in West African urban contexts, this contribution presents how members of the media teams of the local NGOs I was partnering with, were rapidly confronted with radical ambivalences arising with our attempts to use VR technologies within social struggles, for and with informal settlements dwellers. I present several hands-on practical ambivalences and discuss them conceptually using africanfuturism as a decolonial anchoring point enabling a heuristically rich critical perspective on the use of futuristically charged technological artifacts in urban westafrican contexts. I discuss the ethical issues stemming from these ambivalences and extend the discussion to the possibility of subverting the extractive characteristics of the 360° camera, its futuristic appeal as well as the white and male gaze often reproduced by immersive digital technologies. I conclude by critically (re)assessing 360° videography and africanfuturism potentialities for emancipatory struggles in urban Africa.

Paper short abstract:

Cet article définit des futurs de « l’Afrique des Africains » porteurs des intérêts réalistes, principaux et prioritaires des Africains. Ces avenirs se présentent comme directement ancrés dans l’imaginaire collectif socio-historique de l’unité continentale, conscient des effets coloniaux séculaires.

Paper long abstract:

Notre travail cherche l’identification des aspects essentiels d’un futur de « l’Afrique aux Africains ! » et la définition en conséquence de l’inclusion de manière juste des intérêts prioritaires et principaux du Continent noir dans les futurs heureux mondiaux. Le corpus d’appui, entièrement cinématographique, comprend les deux volets de la franchise Marvel Black Panther de l’Africain-Américain Ryan Coogler – soit Black Panther et Black Panther 2 : Wakanda Forever - et Africa Paradis du Béninois Sylvestre Amoussou. Ces productions construisent des imaginaires différenciés d’une Afrique utopique comme superpuissance socio-économique du monde. La première a l’inconvénient réducteur d’exploiter uniquement un royaume africain imaginaire : le Wakanda. La seconde a l’avantage de s’appuyer sur l’Afrique réelle et de concevoir son unité au sens notamment du « Consciencisme » (Kwame Nkrumah), conscient du statut d’ex-colonies des Etats africains de même que leur situation néocoloniale multifactorielle du présent. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que Black Panther pense des futursafricains en termes plus précisément de futurs nègres, des « invention[s] de l’Afrique » ( MUDIMBE, 2021), en plaçant les intérêts des Africains au second plan derrière ceux des Afrodescendants et des diasporas noires. Africa Paradis positionne cependant l’Afrique en priorité et conçoit des futurs proprement africains et véritablement subsahariens. Cette réflexion poursuit le double objectif principal de la détermination de ces futurs nègres et de la caractérisation de ces futurs africains, par une démarche analytique, comparative et contrastive, mettant en regard deux approches de conceptualisation utopique de l’Afrique de deux protagonistes d’origine africaine.

Paper short abstract:

Nigerian filmmakers' construction of Feminine heroism has historically shifted to envisioning and conceptualizing femininity through the eye of modernity and a perspective projection of the future. This shift has resulted in an emerging feminist theory - women's transversal identity.

Paper long abstract:

In the past, feminine heroism in Africa was conceptualized against the backdrop of war and invasion. Through drama or documentaries, the Nigerian film industry has reflected on some epic figures historicizing and institutionalizing their roles in nation-building. For instance, the industry has projected the heroic identities of Queen Amina of Zazzau, Queen Moremi, Queen Idia, Efunsetan Aniwura, and more. These are women of nobility and war survivors who fought winning powers to restore peace during their time. Much later, the pendulum swung to projecting women identified for their involvements in civil and anti-colonial activism, philanthropism, and reengineering women's consciousness to reposition them on the pedestal of feminist ideology and struggle; the list remains inexhaustible. These women now remain in our consciousness, and their names will forever be remembered for their contribution to Nigeria's historical culture. In recent times however, deconstructing women stereotypes, there has been another shift in the route leading to the creation of these figures as products of fictitious imaginations, the construction of feminine heroism occasioned by the features of modernity. A good example is the character of Alhaja in the movie "King of Boys." This study, therefore, traces the creation of Feminine heroism through historio-fictional characters and thematics of selected films as envisioned by notable Nigerian filmmakers towards feminine identity recreation. The study's findings have led to an emerging African feminist theory, with a future projection of women's transversal traits achievable through African socio-cultural reality as reflected in Nigerian films.

Paper short abstract:

The presentation will describe experiences on peacebuilding through activities of the MUICA African Film Festival involving African cinema with Colombian audiences, and how they can promote creative storytelling, reflections on identity, representation and resilience in a country affected by war.

Paper long abstract:

MUICA African Film Festival holds screenings of films from Africa and the African diaspora in several Colombian cities, in independent cinemas, the urban periphery, public libraries, schools, prisons, areas affected by internal displacement and armed conflict that the country experienced for five decades. Most of these areas have a majority of Afro-Colombian citizens, which are 25 percent of the population, and are one of the most marginalised and one of the communities most affected by the civil war. MUICA brought African cinema to most of these audiences for the first time, though a programme following criteria of diversity of region, historical period, gender and narrative genres. It has an approach on peacebuilding as its relates the African films with Colombia’s current realities in the context of post-conflict transition to peace. Local artists, journalists and human rights defenders discuss the films in their respective regions, stimulating reflections on the current context but also on the deep historical, social and cultural connections with African countries. There is a disconnection between Colombia and African countries despite commonalities with some of them in terms of post-colonial and post-conflict approaches, cultural expressions and social issues. MUICA builds of these links contributing to a South-South dialogue, to try to reflect on a future where a stable and long-lasting peace is possible. The presentation will describe experiences on peacebuilding through activities involving African cinema with Colombian audiences, and how they can promote creative storytelling, reflections on identity, representation and resilience in a country affected by war.

Paper short abstract:

How can Afrofuturism in audiovisual and literary storytelling contribute to the empowerment of African women and women of the African diaspora in particular and the Universal Woman in general? Two case studies: the novel 'Midnight Robber' by Nalo Hopkins and the feature film 'Black Panther'.

Paper long abstract:

Through two case studies this paper aims to determine how female representation expressed through Afrofuturistic literary and cinematic works can be a tool for the empowerment of women in general and women of colour in particular. Nalo Hopkins' novel 'Midnight Robber' and the feature film 'Black Panther' directed by Ryan Coogler are examined through the lenses of feminist (film) theory and decolonial theory which can be considered intersectional. One argues that the empowerment of African women and women of the African diaspora can contribute to the liberation of women across the world. After defining the concepts of Afrofuturism and women's empowerment, the case studies are submitted to questions that include: what are the elements that make this story Afrofuturistic? What are the functions of the female characters? How are these characters portrayed and are they considered key drivers of the story? How can the story be a source of female empowerment? Does the story represent a rejection or incorporation of the dominant eurocentric and patriarchal framework? The study concludes that Afrofuturism and other Afro-centric philosophies and genres within storytelling when applied with emancipating purpose and intent can make a valuable contribution towards women's empowerment and the decolonisation of humanity as a whole.